Electric signal and damper control.



P. w. HAMMONDI ELECTRIC SIGNAL AND DAMPER CONTROL.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 20, I914.

Patented May 8, 1917.

IN V EN TOR.

. P/7/7/40 14 Ham/2700a! WITNESSES BY (Ix/ TTORNE Y PHILLIP HAMMOND, 0F COLUMBUS, OHIO.

ELECTRIC SIGNAL AND DAMPER CONTROL.

Application filed April 20, 1914.

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, PHILLIP W. HAM- MOND, a citizen of the United States, residing at Columbus, in the county of Franklin and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electric Signals and Damper Controls, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to an improved electric signal and damper control for furnaces. My aim is to provide a signal which operates when the temperature in the house becomes either too low or too high and which signal cannot be shut ofi' without operating a damper at the same time. For instance, I aim to provide a signal which operates when the temperature in the house gets too high and which continues to operate until the circuit is broken, the circuit being broken by closing or moving the damper toward closed position. In addition, I provide, as a part of my improvement, a signal which operates when the temperature gets too low, the signal being shut off by breaking the circuit, which breaking of the circuit simultaneously operates to open or move the damper toward open position.

My invention is applicable to various types of valves and the important feature of it is the practical necessity for manipulating the damper or draft control at the time when the signal is shut off.

The exact nature of the preferred embodiment of my improvement will appear from the following description, in conjunction with the drawings in which similancharacters of reference designate corresponding parts and in which:

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic representation thereof in application to a furnace.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of. a portion of the structure and Fig. 3 is a detail in elevation of the thermostat preferably utilized In the drawings, a furnace is shown at l and the draft thereof at 2, the draft being shown raised in Fig. 1 and both raised and lowered in Fig. 2. It will appear that, connected to the draft 2 is an operating chain 3, which may extend upwardly to any accessible part of the house. This chain 3 carries a metallic ring4 which is adapted to alternately bridge pairs of spaced contacts 5, 6 and 7, 8. These contacts are the normal breaks in two circuits including an electric hell 9, a'battery Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 8, 1917. Serial No.- 833,063.

10, and a switch 11 which may be locked closed under normal conditions.

Within the circuits and adapted to close one, or the other thereof, at a time, is a thermostatic arrangement comprising a diaphragm thermostat 12 carrying a contact point 13 upon its upper surface which is adapted to make contact with set screw 14 carried upon an arm 15. It will be noted that this arm is resilient. Pivoted to the standard 16 on the upper face of the thermostat is a lever 18 fulcrumed at 19 and having a contact point 20 upon its free end, which contact point 20 is adapted to make contact with a contact surface 21 upon the arm 22, likewise resilient.

In operation, assuming that the showing in Fig. 1 represents my improvement in neutral position, consider that the switch 11 is closed. Too great an increase in temperature will' cause the thermostat to expand andforce the contact 13 against the set screw 14. A circuit will then be closed as follows: From the battery through the thermostat, through contacts 13 and 14, through wire 23 to contact 6, through ring 4 to contact 5, through wire 24 to bell 9, through wire 25, through switch 11 to the battery 10. With the circuit closed as described, the bell will ring until someone removes the ring 4 from the spaced contacts 5, 6. This willbreak the circuit and stop the signal. The ring 4 being removed from the contacts 5, 6 and released drops to the contacts 7, 8, inasmuch as the door of the furnace 2 is a gravity door and will drop to closed position. Assuming that the ring 4 is bridging the space between the contacts 7, 8 as illustrated in dotted lines and in Fig. 2, and assuming that the switch 11 is closed, the fire will gradually die down until the temperature in the house reaches the lower signal limit. When the temperature gets to this point, the thermostat will have contracted and the lever will have swung about its fulcrum 19 so as to bring the contacts 20 and 21. together. The circuit will then be closed from the bat tery 10, through the thermostat and lever, through the spring arm 22, through the wire 26 to the contact 7 through the ring 4 to the contact 8, through the wire 28 to the hell 9, through the wire 25 and switch 11 to the battery.

Theoperation will be apparent and it will be seen that my improvement is intentionally not automatic. It is desired to provide a signal which cannot be shut off without manipulating the damper, draft or valve, or which at any rate will render such manipulation the natural thing to do. My invention also differs from the si nal system which is entirely independent of the damper control. Automatic'devices are unduly expensive and are far'from being perfected. Independent signals are dangerous for the reason that the operator is always liable to simply shut off the signal an forget to manipulate the damper or draft; or, should the operator lower or raise the damper after turning off the switch, this switch could not be immediately returned to its original position as the bell would then resume its ringing. Thus, the operator would be compelled to wait, before setting the switch, unt l the temperature had cooled or raised sufliclently to break the circuit at the thermostat. Inasmuch as this would take considerable time, there would always be present the danger of the operator neglecting to set the switch. When the operator shuts off the signal in the present case by removing the ring, this ring is either manually placed upon the contacts 5, 6, or automatically dropped upon the contacts 7, 8.

It will be understood that the damper may be a downwardly opening damper so that the ring will automatically drop to close the upper limit circuit and the various other modifications may be made coming within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. In combination with a valve control, an alarm operative when the said valve should be moved toward open position, and means connecting said .alarmand said valve control of such a nature thatthe rendering of such alarm inoperative moves said valve toward open position.

2. In combination. with a valve, a valve control, an alarm operative when the said valve should be moved toward closed position, and a removable bridge in said alarm circuit and connected to said valve control, said control and the valve being of such form that removal and release of said bridge permits automatic movement of said valve toward closed position.

3. In combination with a valve control a manually operable alarm operative when the said valve control should be moved toward either open or closed position, and means connecting said alarm and valve control of such a nature, that the rendering of said alarm inoperative .results in the movement of the said valve control toward open or closed position.

4. In combination with a valve control, an alarm operative when said valve control should be moved toward open or closed positions, and means connecting said alarm and valve control of such a nature that the rendering of said alarm inoperative results in the movement of the said valve control automatically toward one position and adjustment of said alarm for operation when another danger limit shall be reached.

5. In combination with a thermal alarm adapted to give a maximum limit signal and a minimum limit signal, a manually operable valve control, and means for coaction with said valve control and maximum and minimum limit signals to make said signals operative or inoperative, said valve control being adjustable to'two positions and so constructed and connected to said means that when adjusted to one position it places the maximum signal 'in operation and the said valve control is moved toward open position, and when adjusted to the other position the minimum limit signal is placed in operation and the said valve control is moved toward closed position.

6. In combination with a thermal alarm adapted to give a maximum limit signal and a minimum limit signal, a valve control, a manually operable means for coaction with said maximum and minimum signals and a means so connecting said first means with said valve control that when the said first means is actuated the said valve control is necessarily operated toward open or closed position.

7. In combination with a furnace construction, a damper having a gravity move-' ment between open and closed positions, a thermo-electric signaling system, a manually operable circuit breaking and closing device and means so connected to said device and damper that the actuation of said device either to open or close the circuit necessarily results in the operation of said damper.

8. In combination with a damper control for furnaces, a thermostatic alarm system, a manually operable circuit breaking and closing device in said system, and means so connected to the damper control and said device that actuation of the said device necessarily operates the damper to reduce the draft when the temperature is high and to increase the draft when the temperature is 9. In combination with a damper control for furnaces, a thermostatic alarm system for signaling when the temperature is too great, a manually operable circuit breaking and closing device for said system, and means so connected to the damper and said device that breaking of the circuit necessarily operates the damper to diminish the draft.

10. In combination with a damper control for furnaces, a thermostatic alarm system .operative to signal when the temperature becomes too low, a manually operable cirmeats? cuit breaking and closing device in said the circuit necessarily operates the damper to increase the draft.

11. In combination with a damper, a chain for moving said damper to diflerent positions, an alarm system having a break therein, and an element on said chain for bridging the break and of such a nature that elimination of the bridging action by movement of said element necessarily operates the damper.

12. In combination with a damper, a chain for moving said damper to difi'erent positions, an alarm system comprising a circuit operable under excessive temperature and a circuit operable under deficient temperature, each of these circuits being broken at a determinate point, and an element on said chain designed to close the one circuit when the damper is open and the other circuit when the damper is closed.

13. In combination with a damper, a chain for moving said damper to difi'erent positions, a ring on the end of said chain, spaced pins for retaining said ring to maintain said damper in open position, spaced elements for supporting said ring when said damper is in closed position, a thermostatic alarm system comprising a circuit operableunder excessive temperatures and a circuit operable under deficient temperatures, the first of these circuits being normally broken at the said spaced pins and the second of these circuits being normally broken at said spaced elements, either of these circuits being closed by the bridging action of said ring so as to set the desired alarm.

In testimony whereof I hereby afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

PHILLIP W. HAMMOND.

Witnesses:

EDITHv NAGHMANOVITZ, James B. Yaw. 

